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June 2016
Policy&Practice
3
director‘s
memo
By Tracy Wareing Evans
T
his issue of
Policy & Practice
is dedicated to showcasing
the many efforts underway across the nation to improve
the well-being of all Americans and enhance the impact
and effectiveness of our health and human service system.
In this pivotal presidential election year, we are focused on
elevating these proven practices and promising innovations
to build a well-framed story of our collective work and, ulti-
mately, to influence policy changes at the national level and
encourage broader adoption of what works.
To support this objective, this year we have transformed
our annual Policy Forum into a National Health and Human
Services Summit, designed to provide a venue for interac-
tive policy and practice discussions shaped by the Human
Services Value Curve and
Pathways
frameworks.
FromMay 22–25, we are pleased to welcome long-
standing members, strategic partners, and newcomers
to this National Summit at the Key Bridge Marriott in
Arlington, VA. The Summit offers a variety of sessions
designed to highlight the newest and most important
information on practice trends, legislative and regula-
tory solutions, as well as the role that each of us plays in
advancing health and human service system transformation.
Among the Summit sessions are inspiring and impactful
TED-style talks from experienced national human service
leaders who will reflect on key policy issues shaping our
work; speed dating sessions that provide first-hand expe-
rience on the newest and most innovative technologies,
programs, and research; workshops covering a broad
range of topics and issues central to our collective work;
and general sessions that highlight the Summit’s theme—
Inspire, Innovate, Impact
—and help us better understand
the current environmental context in which we are oper-
ating and what it is likely to mean for the future of health
and human services.
Highlights of the Summit include remarks from Dr. Beth
Cohen, from the University of California Davis Center
for Human Services, who will explore what we know
and continue to learn about how the brain functions. Her
compelling session, “Human Services Leadership and
Neuroscience,” will be followed by a hands-on session
designed to help you manage stress and maximize engage-
ment in your work. Other general sessions will include
remarks on the current political climate and presidential
elections fromMichael D. Gottlieb, executive director and
general counsel of the National Journal Group’s Policy Brand
Roundtable and chair of the National Policymakers’ Council;
and a panel discussion with national leaders led by our
partners at
Governing
magazine on how the changing fiscal
and political landscape is affecting the health and human
service system now and into the future.
Workshops offered throughout the conference will focus
on issues important to state and local CEOs and deputies,
agency administrators, and program and operations special-
ists. Speakers from the public and private sectors with deep
experience in health and human services will participate
and offer their insights. The workshops focus on four major
categories: (1) employment and economic well-being, (2)
collaboration across health and human services, (3) child
and family well-being, and (4) innovations in practice,
program delivery, and operations. These sessions will
provide insights on fresh approaches to problem solving and
the ways that the Human Services Value Curve and APHSA’s
Pathways
can help each of us achieve our goals. Specific
APHSA’s National Summit Showcases
Interactive Policy and Practice Discussions
See Director’s Memo on page 38